Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the Chicago City Council Finance Committee, deferred a full City Council vote today on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Infrastructure Trust public-private partnership plan, arguably the most consequential and controversial proposal of Emanuel’s brief time as mayor thus far. Burke delayed the vote amid speculation that Trust opponents might use a parliamentary maneuver to table the measure.
However, the City Council is anticipated to hold a special session next Tuesday, April 24 to vote on the measure, much to the chagrin of ordinance opponent Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd). Read more »
Chicago is sorting through the stunning White House announcement
Monday that Camp David, not McCormick Place Convention Center, will play host to the Group of Eight summit May
19-21, after months of hype and build up.
One lingering question – which Progress Illinois looked
at yesterday – is if World Business Chicago, the non-profit in charge
of managing both the G8 and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summits,
will redirect their fundraising efforts now that just NATO is coming to
town.
Another concern: What becomes of two controversial
ordinances that passed City Council in January, in anticipation of the
simultaneous summits? According to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office, both
measures are still in effect. Read more »
Activists used the Chicago City Council's passage today of two ordinances that
deal with protests in anticipation of the May G8/NATO summits to say Rahm
Emanuel is trampling on First Amendment rights.
Chicago Police Department leadership has pretty broad guesses
about what security will be needed for the NATO and G8 summits, how many
people will come in to Chicago to attend the summits, and who might be
arrested for protesting the summit.
“This is a federal, White
House event and we don’t have a lot of information at this time,” said
Debra Kirby, the police department’s chief of international relations in
response to questions posed by Ald. Ed Burke (14th) at a city council Budget and Government Operations committee hearing
today. The NATO and G8 summits will be held at McCormick Place more or
less simultaneously, May 19-21.
“Frankly, it leaves a lot of unknown questions at this time,” she added.
Here are few reactions from City Hall and beyond to outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's final budget proposal, wrapped up from around the web:
"It’s kind of like a homeowner that has to sell their dining room set in
order to pay next month’s rent. It doesn’t sound like a good idea. But
if they don’t get next month’s rent, they don’t have a roof." -- Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward)
“If you put a band-aid on a bullet wound, you’re going to bleed through it." -- Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward)
"We can no longer deny that we are living beyond our means. We must go
beyond the temporary fixes to confront our structural deficit in a
permanent way." -- Mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel
"By spending money generated on the expectation of
future generations’ revenue, the Mayor’s plans could be nothing more than a bad
payday loan that our children will have to pay back." -- Illinois Public Interest Research Group field director Celeste Meiffren
And Wednesday on WTTW's Chicago Tonight, four aldermen -- two sympathetic to the mayor, two who are much more critical -- weighed in. Watch (the full clip is available here):
Hearings about the 2011 budget start next week in City Hall. For ideas about how the city's budgeting process could be improved, be sure to check out story from earlier this week.
Chicago Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward) is leaving the door open for a mayoral
bid -- even if it's just a crack -- as his volunteers begin gathering
signatures to put him on the ballot for City Council once again.
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) is the fourth Chicago aldermen to announce publicly
that she is interested in running for mayor. The South Sider, who voted
against the parking meter lease, said she would need to raise "a lot of
money" before she jumped into the race.
Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) is one of five aldermen who, in late 2008, voted against Mayor Daley's plan to lease the city's parking meter system to a private company for 75 years. This week, she took her show on the road, flying to Pittsburgh (on her own dime) to warn her Steel City peers against making a snap decision on a similar privatization deal. Hairstonwarned the council members that they won't escape public outrage once private operators jack up parking rates, telling them: "You are the ones whose feet are held to the fire."
Apparently, Morgan Stanley -- the lead investor in the Chicago meter deal -- is trying to convince Pittsburgh officials that an independent, outside evaluation of leasing parking garages, and possibly meters, would scare off investors. Unlike Chicago's sheepish council, they're not buying it though. For that, Hairston praised them: "You all should be complimented for having the guts — and I do mean the guts — to take this on and to challenge it and to question it." (H/T The Expired Meter)
Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the Chicago City Council Finance Committee, deferred a full City Council vote today on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Infrastructure Trust public-private partnership plan, arguably the most consequential and controversial proposal of Emanuel’s brief time as mayor thus far. Burke delayed the vote amid speculation that Trust opponents might use a parliamentary maneuver to table the measure.
Chicago is sorting through the stunning White House announcement
Monday that Camp David, not McCormick Place Convention Center, will play host to the Group of Eight summit May
19-21, after months of hype and build up.
Here are few reactions from City Hall and beyond to outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's 
